World of Warcraft: Priest Guide

1. So, you're at that character screen, and you're rolling your first
character, or maybe you're looking to try something new. Why a priest?
Well, let me clear a few things up. You won't be a slave to healing as
much of the time as you might think. As a matter of fact, until 60,
when you're on your own, you've got an excellent repertoire of damage
spells, healing just being serious icing on the cake. Priests have a
great way to run away from a fight when things begin to become terribly
wrong, what with their fear, power word: shield, and whatnot. Priests
are loved. You will not have too much of a problem getting into group,
whereas the stereotypical shaman/paladin/rogue might be deterred
because there are already a gajillion of them wanting to do whatever
instance it is. Not only that, but as a primary healer you'll get into
instances that are usually too high for you just because healers are
often needed. Of course, as a healer you'll have to go through the
unfortunate "Rofl n00b, lern2heal, rofflecopter, he wiped us." Most of
the time, if they're complaining, they deserve their death. What else
is there to love about priests? Just about everything. In short: We
heal, we damage, we get easy invites, we're flexible, we rock.

2. You're still looking at the character screen, and maybe are thinking
about a priest. Even so, what race? What faction? I must briefly give a
personal statement on factions: Every time an Alliance character is
rolled, a kitten dies. That being said, there are two very viable
choices for Priests, one on each side.

Alliance: The Dwarf
Short and stocky, the dwarf nonetheless makes an exceptional priest.
There are two reasons for this-the first being Desperate Prayer, a
spell available only to humans and dwarves.. This is an instant heal
that costs no mana and heals the caster for a goodly amount. It does,
however, have a terribly long cooldown. The second reason that dwarves
are good is because they have Fear Ward. This allows them to dispel a
fear effect, and it is beyond valuable, in PVP especially, and quite
useful outside of that. The downside? Dwarves are unfortunately
Alliance, so should you roll one, a kitten will die.

Horde: The Undead
Humanoid and dead, the dwarf is a fearsome Priest, and the best PVP
choice you can make, priest-wise. Devouring Plague is the first of
multiple reasons. Devouring Plague is a DoT (Damage over Time) that
heals you of all the damage it deals. It is excellent. It is great,
mighty, amazing. Next, the Undead get a fear counter that's laps the
dwarve's racial across the face. Will of the Forsaken gets rid of fear,
charm, sleep, etc. Undead get 10 Shadow resistance, also useful. And we
get the greatest taunt ever-cannibalize.

Some people will talk about how their Night Elf or Troll priest is the
best possible race. This is not true. If you like how one looks, or
whatever, go ahead. Race is hardly anything in this game. (As it should
be in life.)

3. So maybe I've convinced you and you're making your Undead Priest.
You want to know more about how these spells work. What does what. Or
maybe you're 8/8 Transcendence and reading this FAQ for a good laugh.
Nonetheless, here are the spells, their uses, etc, listed by skill
type.

Holy (Heals)

Abolish/Cure Disease: It gets rid of any diseases. This is a spell that
doesn't need anymore explanation.

Flash Heal: The speediest of your bulk heals, at a 1.5 casting time it
will save your/someone's life in a heartbeat. Often time it goes Power
Word: Shield, Flash Heal, Renew, and then maybe a Flash Heal and the
near-dead are fully healthy and fight-ready.

Lesser Heal/Heal/Greater Heal: The lengthiest of your bulk heals, it is
a whopper. This is the heal you use when you have the time to cast it.
It's mana-efficient and really shoots up health. This should basically
be saved for the tank (e.g. Warrior, maybe a bear Druid or Paladin.)

Holy Fire: A damage spell that drops a DoT, this is only really ever
useful if you get the talents to buff it up.

Holy Nova (Talent): An instant cast small heal/small damage AoE (Area
of Effect) spell that causes no threat, this is great. Easily spammable
in tight quarters when surrounded by friends and foes to great effect.
Of course, be careful to watch you mana, because this is a serious mana
sink.

Lightwell (Talent): It seems to strike me as pretty mediocre, since you
have to focus on it actively to be healed, and doesn't seem like the
best expenditure of points. That's just my call, though.

Prayer of Healing: This is a spell that heals everybody in your party.
It is a high-cost spell, but when a lot of people are taking damage, it
actually winds up being quite mana-efficient. It is great to combine
with the talent "Inner Focus" that reduces the mana cost of a spell to
0 and increases its crit. chance by 25%. Lots of potential crits.
there, on 5 targets. That's further amplified if you have the talent
"Inspiration" in Holy. An excellent spell.

Renew: This is your HoT. Cast it when people just start taking damage.
It winds up healing quite a bit, and it doesn't cause too much aggro.
when used. A great spell, and one you should use frequently.

Resurrection: Resurrects a player when out of combat. Necessary. The
end.

Spirit of Redemption (Talent): Allows you to keep on casting spells for
10 secs. after you die, free of mana cost. Great. Excellent. If you're
going Holy, get this talent.

Smite: Your basic Holy damage spell, just a tad worse than Mind Blast,
but with no cooldown.

Discipline: (Buffs and misc. spells)

Dispel Magic: Dispels up to two harmful spells on you, based on spell
rank, or removes two beneficial spells on an opponent. This is vital,
both in and out of PVP. It is mana effective to get rid of DoTs and
useful to get rid of buffs that others may have. It's also an instant
cast, which is quite useful.

Divine Spirit (Talent): Buffs up your Spirit. Nice. Nothing more to
say, it's your call to get or not.

Inner Fire: This is an instant cast spell that buffs up your armor and
attack power. Useful. Keep it up when you can, preferably starting it
outside of combat.

Inner Focus (Talent): This is a spell that reduces the mana cost of
your next spell by 100% and increases its chance to get a crit. by 25%.
This is an amazing spell. It's an extra cast of some mana-costly spell
that you get to use every five minutes. Think Prayer of Healing,
Devouring Plague, Mindblast, Greater Heal when using this spell, though
it can be used really on anything.

Levitate: Float, above water, etc. Very fun skill. Keep your light
feathers.

Mana Burn: Your weapon against Paladins and Druids, burns away their
mana and deals damage for the mana they lose. Try not to use it on
mages, because they cast out damage to quickly. It's a great PVP spell,
almost unusable in PVE, though.

Power Infusion (Talent): An instant cast spell that increases the
target's damage and healing by 20% for 15 secs. This is amazing. Drops
this on a mage, keep him healed and shielded, and watch the AoE damage
roll out. This is an intensely great spell.

Power Word: Shield: Makes a shield around the target that absorbs
damage. An instant cast. Great for tough situations, and great to use
on casters. Even more excellent when talents are used towards improving
it.

Prayer/Power Word: Fortitude: Buffs up your HP, or the target's, by
quite a bit. A must-have buff to have and to keep on.

Shackle Undead: Keeps an undead target rooted in place. This is
amazingly useful when around the undead. It's great, use it when you
can.


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